Tag: Indianapolis 500

Qualifying Wrap Up

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Photo- Robert Shwartzman (L) and Conor Daly- the ecstasy and agony of Indy 500 Qualifying

Big hits and near misses were the themes of the opening day of qualifying at IMS today. From a somber beginning to an exciting final run, the day contained all the drama a fan could ask for in a qualifying day.

Marcus Armstrong spun and hit the first turn wall in the first few minutes of morning practice. the car was destroyed, and Armstrong rode the ambulance to the infield care center. He was cleared to drive three hours later.

Pato O’Ward took the top spot after his run and held it for several hours.

Colton Herta got loose in turn 1 on his first qualifying lap. The car got airborne, flipped, and slid to the exit of turn 2. Herta got out of the car and walked to the medical van. He was released and cleared to drive.

Conor Daly earned cheers with a run to fifth place around noon, only to be disqualified for failing tech inspection. He returned around three and qualified 16th, but he saved the real drama for the end of the day.

Alex Palou ran the fastest average of the day and held it for the rest of day, despite challenges from Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden.

Shwartzman finds speed– Rookie Robert Shwartzman went from being in danger of missing the race with slow speed early in the week to a spot in the top 12 for tomorrow’s second round. Shwartzman turned the sixth fastest average today.

Disappointments- Kyle Kirkwood appeared to be a contender for the Fast 12, but qualified 25th. Rinus VeeKay, who had qualified in the top 12 three straight years, will need to make the field tomorrow.

Relief for Rahal- Graham Rahal had the 30th fastest speed and is locked in the field. The last couple of years have been a struggle for Rahal to qualify. He failed to qualify forthe race in 2023, but replaced the injured Stefan Wilson.

Late Drama- With kess than 2 hours remaining Colton Herta and Marcus Armstrong were ready to make qualifying runs. Herta barely squeaked in in 29th, but Armstrong will have to attempt to make the last row tomorrow. It was a heroic effort by their teams to get vars on track.

Conor Daly went out in a final attempt to make the top 12 as time was running out. His first three laps gave him an average good enought to advance to Sunday, but the fourth lap fell off too much and he will start 13th. The hometown crowd went home a bit disappointed.

“I didn’t get the weight jacker back in time.” Daly said afterwards. He missed 12th place by 0.84 miles per hour.

The windy conditions played havoc with many qualifying runs, but in the end the breezy situations, which were different in each turn, created an interesting ace day lineup.

Tomorrow the pole is up for grabs and four cars vie for4 the final three spots on the grid.

Results

Full results including all attempts

Current grid by car number

Qualifying Line Complete; Herta Crash

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All cars in the qualifying line have completed their runs, and 29 cars have posted times. Conr Daly’s car failed post qualifying tech inspection and his time has been deleted. Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden pulled their cars from the line and no longer have a guaranteed chance to qualify.

Marcus Armstrong’s car is still being rebuilt. He has been cleared to drive. Colton Herta endured a very frightening crash going into turn 1 on his first qualification lap. The car spun, hit the wall and flipped over, then slid along the wall to the exit of turn 2, about a quarter of a mile. Herta was treated and released at the infield care center. (Ed. note- I’m tired of writing this sentence today.)

Alex Palou currently leads with a 233.04 mph average, followed by Scott McLaughlin and Pato O’Ward. Kyle Kirkwood had a very disappointing run and is currently 15th.

Qualifying is about to resume with Newgarden and Castroneves.

The current standings

Armstrong Crash Mars Practice

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Update: Marcus Armstrong was treated and released from the infield care center just moments ago.

Marcus Armstrong suffered a heavy crash in the first minutes of morning practice prior to Indianapolis 500 qualifying. The number 66 Meyer Shank Racing machine got loose enteringt urn 1 of his third lap and made hard contact with the wall, spun into the short chute, ten hit the wall near turn 2.

Armstrong was placed on a stretcher and taken to the infield care center, where he was held for observation for more than an hour.

Only 23 cars ran during the session, which was extended a few minutes due to the lengthy cleanup from Armstrong’s accident.

Results

Qualifying Preview

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Good morning. Idseal weather is in store for the first day of qualifications.

Here is the latest from @Indycar_Wxman:

The temperature will be around 62 degrees when Marcus Ericsson rolls off for the first run of the day. The sky will be sunny early with a cloud cover around 4 pm. We should see a very busy afternoon.

The day will be much cooler than yesterday. which may mean faster speed.

The order of qualifying:

There are fast cars both early and late. Going late may not be then issue that it sometimes is with the weather forecast. I think we will see multiple runs by most of the topo pole contenders and thos trying to avoid the bottom four.

Scott Dixon may be able to challenge Alex Palou today. Do not sleep on Kyle Kirkwood. he is sneaky fast and has been at or near the top of the no tow charts all week. Of course, the Penske cars, especially Scott Mclaughlin, will be strong. Can Conor Daly back up his strong runs during the week? Will Robert Shwartzman repeat his speed of yesterday?

While I still think this format needs some tweaks, it does provide for some intrigue. I would prefer limiting cars to four runs, and a driver should lose his time every time he returns to the track. I don’t like giving someone a free test run.

Hybrid deployment may be the key to making the second round tomorrow. Teams tried several different strategies with the unit yesterday.

Enjoy the day. I will provide an update around 4 pm and at the end of the day.

It’s Qualifying Day 1

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From IMS:

Saturday, May 17 
 INDIANAPOLIS (Friday, May 16, 2025) – Information about 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying track activity Saturday, May 17 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
SCHEDULE (All times local):
8 a.m.-6 p.m.: Public gates open
8:30-9:30 a.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice FS2
11 a.m.-5:50 p.m.: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying
Television
11-1:30 FS1
1:30-4 FS2
4-6 FOX
TICKETS: General Admission tickets are $35. The General Admission ticket will provide the opportunity to move between the IMS infield viewing mounds and first-come, first-served access to selected grandstands to view racing action from different vantage points. Free entry for all military personnel with a valid military ID. Children 15 and under are admitted free with a paying adult. Separate ticket required for entry each day
PUBLIC GATES OPEN (8 a.m.-6 p.m.): Gate 1, Gate 2, Gate 3, Gate 4, Gate 6S, Gate 7, Gate 7S, Gate 9, Gate 10, Gate 10A, Gate 11A
PARKING: Free public parking is available in Turn 3 and Lot 7 (North 40). Free ADA accessible parking is available in the following lots: West Museum Lot, Flag Lot, Tower Lot, Northwest Gravel Lot and Lot 7 (North 40). Free motorcycle parking is available in South Carousel Lot. Paid parking is available for $10 in Lot 2, Main Gate Lot and Lot 3P. Paid ADA parking is available for $10 in Lot 2 and Lot 3P and $20 in Gate 1 Lot.
CASHLESS OPERATIONS: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a cashless facility. Please be prepared to complete your ticket, credentials, parking, concession and merchandise purchases with ease during your event via debit or credit card.Tap-to-pay phone payments will be accepted, as will credit and debit transactions. Cash-to-Card machines, which convert paper money onto a temporary debit card, will be located in the IMS Museum, Pagoda Plaza and outside Turn 1 by concessions stand 7. These funds can be spent inside the venue, outside the venue, online or anywhere in the world where Mastercard/Visa debit cards are accepted.
MUSEUM: The IMS Museum is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission tickets are $25, seniors (55 and over) are $23, and military (former and active) are $18. Tickets can be purchased online at https://imsmuseum.org/tickets/. Gate admission must be purchased as well as Museum admission.

Fast Friday Lives Up to Its Name

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Early speed and later speed was the order of the day at IMS as teams ran simulated qualifying runs early, waited through the hottesrt part of the afternoon, then came out after the skies became overcast.

Scott McLaughlin had the fastest single lap of the day this very early, a 233,954 mph scorcher, but Scott Dixon edged teammate Alex Palou for the best four lap average.

Kyffin Simpson had a huge wall contact out of turn 4 and got airborne early in the day. he was cleared to drive by the medical staff. Kyle Larson spun and made slight contact in the north short chute. He returned to make a shakedown run later.

The biggest surprise of the day was Robert Shwartzman. The rookie had struggled to find speed all week, but he turned the 13th fastest single lap at 231,295 mph and the eighth fastest four lap average.

Graham Rahal continues to struggle. He ran the 28th fastest single lap and didn’t get a qualifying simulation completed.

The top ten 4 lap averages:

Tomorrow’s forecast is for cooler and windier weather with a high ofm73 and west winds of 15 to 20 knots and gusts of 25-30 knots.

I’ll be back latwer tonight with resultd of the quakifying draw.

Mid Day Fast Friday

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Good afternoon from IMS. Some notes on the day so far.

I do not recall a bigger turnout for Fast Friday than I see today. I was in line to park for 15 minutes. The Pagoda Plaza is very busy. The crowd tracks with the announcement made by Doug Boles this morning.

Boles said that there are fewer than 1,000 grandstand seats remaining, mostly between turns 3 and 4, and that the local television blackout is lifted for the race. FOX 59 will re air the race as scheduled Sunday night, conflicting with the Pacers’ first home game of the third round of playoffs.

The sellout, which Boles expects to be complete this weekend, is the first since 2016.

Sonsio Grand Prix Note– Boles told me that tickets for the Grand Prix were up 4% on Friday and 7% on Sunday. He sees no direct correlation between Grand Prix and 500 sales.

On Track– Scott McLaughlin turned a blistering 233.951 mph lap early, and no one has come within two miles an hour of that time. Will Power is second and Christian Rasmussen sits third at the moment.

50 minutes into the session Kyffin Simpson hit r

the wall exiting turn 4. the car lifted but didn’t flip. Simpson slid in to pit entry. He got out of the car under his own power.

Santino Ferrucci seems to have his issues solved. he has a quick lap of 230.389 today.

Graham Rahal continues to struggle. He has the third slowest speed of theafternoon.

Marco Andretti has been the only Andretti Global car on track. Andretti is 10th fastest with 230.510 lap.

Still to make an appearance today- Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and Marcus Ericsson.

I’ll be back at the end of the day with a wrap up and the qualification draw.

Pole Tales: 1975- Foyt’s Second Try Ties Record

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Rules had slowed the cars, but they did not slow the drama. Johnny Rutherford’s pole speed of 198 mph just two years ago was a distant memory. Tom Sneva held the top spot in the first hour of qualifying at just over 190 mph. Bobby Unser topped his speed with an average of 191.073 mph. The next car on track, Gordon Johncock, went faster, 91. 652 mph to move to the provisional pole.

A. J. Foyt had yet to qualify. Foyt had taken the green flag but pulled into the pits after just one lap. The car went back to the garage. Foyt later said there was an engine issue.

After repairs, Foyt went out for his second attempt. His first lap was195.313, and his average of 193.976 easily beat Johncock’s time. Foyt went out with the idea of taking any speed above 190 mph. Only four drivers qualified above that mark. Foyt may also have been concerned about the high number of qualifiers that day. Under the rules of that era, he would have started 21st at best if he would have had to qualify the following day.

The pole was Foyt’s second in a row and fourth of his storied Indianapolis 500 career. He had also won poles in 1965 and 1969. At the time Rex Mays was the only other driver to win four poles at the Speedway (1935, 1936, 1940, 1948.)

The 1975 starting front row marked the first time that three former winners started at the front of the field.

Bobby Unser won his second Indianapolis 500 in an event stopped after 435 miles because of rain. Rutherford was second and Foyt finished third. It was the third race shortened by rain in a four year period, with only the 1974 race running the full distance in that time.